Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 15

The Legend of Korramaintains momentum with an exciting Beifong-centric episode. “Operation Beifong” doesn’t waste much time getting Bolin, Lin, Opal and Toph together as they seek to rescue Suyin from Kuvira’s clutches. Along the way, they find Zhu Li, whose allegiance to Kuvira may not be as firm as the show would have you believe.

Meanwhile, Korra works with President Raiko to come up with alternative methods for dealing with Kuvira rather than turn to spirit vine technology. She turns to the spirits for help but is met with a cold shoulder. These few scenes appear to be key to setting up the finale.

J and I begin the podcast talking about these Avatar-focused moments. We note that while Korra’s petition is important narratively, it comes off as shortchanged in the grand scheme of the episode. We then discus the history of spirits and whether they’ve intervened in human disputes in the past.

We also address Toph’s claim that “sometimes, you gotta leave it to the kids.” Does that mean we won’t see Zuko, Katara and Toph kicking butt in the last few episodes? I argue that the show would benefit from some sort of reunion moment, even if it’s just the remaining Gaang grabbing tea together. J contends that Korra serves as an epilogue for these characters; this series isn’t their story, so no conclusion is necessary for their characters.

We then move on to the question of Lin and Suyin’s fathers, a hot-button topic in the Avatar fan community. Josh makes the point that Bolin functions on behalf of the fans in this scene while Toph represents the creators. He goes on to say that this is the creators telling us that the identities of Lin/Suyin’s fathers are irrelevant to the plot. He wonders why fans are so hellbent on learning who they are.

We conclude with a discussion of Zhu Li’s bravery and Bolin’s selflessness in trying to save her. Josh mentions that the duel that ensues between Suyin and Kuvira is the best-choreographed and shot fight scene of the year. Following from that claim, I talk about Tony Zhou’s “Every Frame a Painting” series and Josh quips about how much he hates The Raid and The Raid 2.

~ Søren

Note that this podcast contains spoilers up through “Operation Beifong.” As always, you can subscribe to Ember Island Airwaves using iTunes. Alternatively, you can check out the episode online or download it here. Happy listening!

How do you feel about Lin and Suyin’s fathers? Could learning about them in any way affect the story at this point? And will the old masters reunite before the credits roll on The Legend of Korra? Let us know in the comments!

About J Rosenfield

J writes reviews and other features for Movie Fail. She has been writing reviews and essays about film since 2010, most recently on her Medium blog since 2010. When she's not watching movies, she's listening to film-related podcasts.

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